Chief Dr. Patrick Eholor otherwise known as Ultimate Equal, the Father of Nigerian Students-FONS in a documentary he initiated to tackle whoever in charge of maintaining the community cemeteries. This came immediately a day after the local government election in Edo State where many attested the election was not free and fair as it was recorded that some polling units did not get the election officials as well as the materials until 2pm in which many voters went home without exercising their rights to vote, yet there was record and winners in these polling units.
According to Eholor, In a statement with the Journalists yesterday in his Benin City Villa, he said
"I embarked on this documentary project on cemeteries in Edo State to unveils the corruption that is even against the dead.
The activist said "Apart from the inspiration I had to fight for the dead, the shamble Local Government election yesterday in Edo State has prompted me to look critically into the responsibilities of the Local Government offices, as there was unfriendly election process of the local government, there are also unfriendly responsibilities of this government to human when alive and when dead."
Although, www.nigerialawyer.com has analyzed and described the maintenance of the public cemeteries as the responsibility of the local government, local council. The Local government or council has not been maintaining these cemeteries as it is stated, they are only fond of practicing a 'do or die' election without a tangible purposes to taking care of their people when dead or alive.
Eholor said "I am not doing this to be popular or to get money, I am popular already and I am rich, I am also satisfy with what I have but as a Canadian I am, it is not sane to leave the cemeteries the way we see it.
"I could remember a day my friend told me to accompany him to his mother, which I agreed to, he drove towards the cemetery with flower, he dropped the flower and start communicating sobberly with the dead, my head swells. Although, I was not aware he was going to see his dead mother, I thought he was referring to a living soul. I then, remembered my home and asked myself who have we sinned against in my country home that we would not do this?
The answered came to my head that we have sinned against the living especially the dead by not giving post burial rites, our ancestors are not happy with us, I don't even believe we have deities again" he said.
Our correspondence who was at the various cemeteries Eholor visited in Edo State yesterday reported that indeed, the ancestors may not forgive us the way the burial grounds are left down, the bushes has finished the graves, there is no good atmosphere in the environment as erosions has flooded everywhere around the cemeteries, it is not interesting to believe that the dead will be happy, if you were there, you will be ashame of the mentality toward the way the dead are treated.
Eholor lamented on the Political system in Africa, the disgruntle leadership who have used selfishness to corrupt the system, he challenged everyone to put in individual efforts to support the Government in order to fix the cemeteries back, so that we can visit our love ones. "People go to cemeteries in other part of the world to remember their love ones, it is only here we neglected everything, we defraud even the dead to fix their final place of rest. I have been speaking for the living, let the public reason with me as I also speak for the dead today."
Eholor the Ultimate Equal promised to take whoever in charge of maintaining the cemeteries to court, to explain if there is or no allocation to maintaining the cemeteries and how the allocations have been spent so far. I fought godfatherism so there would be an egalitarian society, it is the turn of the dead to get their rights even their death.